Frequently Asked Questions:
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I offer 55 minute and 90 minute sessions.
***For brainspotting and EMDR it is recommendad that we meet for 90 minute sessions to truly allow your system to unwind and integrate the material we are focusing on.
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It varies. Ultimately you decide! This is your sacred healing space, and we will gauge what is right for you given your current reality and goals. While I do have extensive training and experience offering depth oriented long term Hakomi somatic mindfulness therapy, I also offer Brainspotting and EMDR which can resolve distress and trauma fairly quickly.
Some of my clients value having a consistent therapeutic support and have opted to work with me weekly for years. Others chose to have 3-6 months of intensive 90 minute sessions, and then to shift to more of a maintenance phase of meeting once a month. Occasionally I will have a client that wants very focused therapy or coaching for a very focused part of their life, such as a traumatic incident and we will have about 2-3 months of sessions.
Let’s connect and explore what way of working would best support you at this moment in your life.
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55 minute sessions: $200
90 minute sessions: $275
I can offer you a superbill for insurance reimbursement as an out of network provider.
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No. While I have offered these services in the past I am currently only working with teenagers and adults individually.
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Beginning in January 2024 I will be offering a few different types of group healing that will incorporate expressive art expression, mindfulness, embodied awareness, and more!
Sneak peak! Victim to Victor: Step into your vibrant wholeness and re-write your story.
Explore what is holding you in your stance as a victim, and how this is held in your mind and body.
Create a support structure within the group to help bolster yourself as you make significant shifts in how you navigate your life.
Get in touch with your inherent playful vitality through embodiment practices.
Healing modalities:
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Hakomi Somatic Mindfulness Psychotherapy, developed by Ron Kurtz, is a holistic therapeutic approach that integrates mindfulness, somatic (body-centered) awareness, and psychodynamic principles to facilitate personal growth, healing, and self-discovery.
Key Principles and Concepts:
Mindfulness: A central aspect of Hakomi is the practice of mindfulness, which involves being fully present and non-judgmentally attentive to one's thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and memories.
Somatic Awareness: Hakomi recognizes that the body holds emotional memories and information. Clients are encouraged to explore bodily sensations, tension, and movements to access and process unconscious material.
Assisted Self-Discovery: Therapists in Hakomi act as guides, creating a safe and supportive environment for clients to explore their inner world at their own pace.
Non-Violence (Loving Presence): A fundamental principle is non-violence, characterized by therapists offering deep respect, empathy, and unconditional positive regard. This attitude promotes a sense of safety for clients to delve into vulnerable and painful aspects of themselves.
Mind-Body Connection: Hakomi acknowledges the interconnectedness of mind and body. Emotional issues often manifest as physical tension, and vice versa. Exploring this connection can lead to profound healing.
How Hakomi Works:
Establishing Trust: Building a strong therapeutic alliance is the initial step for therapists. Trust is essential for clients to feel safe enough to explore their inner world.
Mindfulness Practice: Clients are guided through mindfulness exercises to foster full presence and internal exploration. These exercises may include body scans, mindful breathing, or other techniques.
Exploring Core Beliefs: Mindfulness and somatic exploration often reveal core beliefs and unconscious material that influence thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. These beliefs are gently examined, and clients are encouraged to question and reframe them.
Processing Emotions: Emotions and memories that surface during exploration are processed within a supportive environment. Therapists assist clients in navigating these emotions, facilitating healing and transformation.
Integration: Insights gained through Hakomi are integrated into clients' daily lives. Clients are encouraged to apply newfound awareness and coping strategies outside of therapy.
Ongoing Exploration: Hakomi is often viewed as an ongoing journey of self-discovery and healing. Clients may return to therapy as needed to explore new issues or deepen their understanding.
In summary, Hakomi Somatic Mindfulness Psychotherapy, as developed by Ron Kurtz, offers a transformative therapeutic approach that invites clients to explore their inner worlds with mindfulness and somatic awareness. This exploration promotes healing, personal growth, and enhanced well-being.
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EMDR can be an extremely helpful tool for us to incorporate into our work together if you are seeking therapy due to emotional pain, anxiety, or the lasting effects of traumatic experiences. EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a groundbreaking therapeutic approach that unwinds holding patterns of distress mentally and somatically, supporting clients in having a sense of embodied ease.
How EMDR Works:
EMDR is a structured therapy designed to help individuals process and resolve distressing memories and experiences. Its effectiveness has been recognized by organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Psychological Association (APA).
Assessment and Preparation: EMDR begins with a comprehensive assessment to understand your unique history and challenges. We will spend some time to build the safety and rapport in our relationship and incorporate some somatic resourcing throughout this process to ensure that you are prepared for this journey.
Identifying Targets: Together we will pinpoint specific memories, images, or beliefs that are causing you distress. These can range from traumatic events to persistent negative thoughts about yourself.
Bilateral Stimulation: EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, typically in the form of side-to-side eye movements, but it can also involve auditory or tactile cues. This stimulation helps activate your brain's natural healing processes.
Processing Memories: While engaging in bilateral stimulation, you'll revisit the distressing memories or beliefs. This allows you to reprocess them in a way that reduces their emotional charge and transforms them into more adaptive, manageable experiences.
Integration: EMDR helps integrate the processed memories and beliefs into your overall sense of self and well-being. It fosters a more balanced and empowered perspective.
Benefits of EMDR:
Rapid Relief: EMDR often leads to quicker results compared to traditional talk therapies. Many clients experience significant improvement within a few sessions.
Lasting Change: EMDR doesn't just alleviate symptoms; it addresses the root causes of emotional distress, leading to lasting transformation.
Reduced Emotional Pain: Traumatic memories and negative beliefs can be emotionally overwhelming. EMDR helps decrease their emotional intensity, allowing you to regain control over your life.
Improved Self-Esteem: By processing and transforming negative self-beliefs, EMDR can boost self-esteem and self-compassion.
Enhanced Coping: EMDR equips you with effective coping strategies and resilience, empowering you to face life's challenges with greater ease.
Versatility: EMDR is effective for a wide range of issues, including trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, phobias, and more.
In your journey towards emotional well-being, EMDR is a powerful ally. It offers you the opportunity to heal from past wounds, find relief from emotional pain, and regain a sense of control and confidence in your life. It's a gentle and evidence-based approach, tailored to your unique needs and experiences.
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The Science Behind Brainspotting: Evidence-Based Healing for Trauma
If you're seeking a trauma-focused therapeutic approach backed by scientific evidence, Brainspotting is a compelling choice. Grounded in the principles of neurobiology and the brain's innate capacity to heal, Brainspotting offers a profound path to recovery. Here, we'll delve into the scientific foundations of Brainspotting and how it works to heal trauma.
Understanding the Science:
Neurobiological Basis: Brainspotting is firmly rooted in the principles of neurobiology. It capitalizes on the brain's ability to process and reorganize neural networks, even after traumatic experiences. Scientific studies have shown that trauma can leave imprints on the brain, affecting emotional regulation and cognitive functioning. Brainspotting targets these neural imprints, offering the potential for healing and resolution.
The Role of the Amygdala: The amygdala, a key brain structure responsible for processing emotions, plays a pivotal role in trauma. When individuals experience traumatic events, the amygdala becomes hyperactive, contributing to heightened emotional responses and hypervigilance. Brainspotting helps recalibrate the amygdala's responses by facilitating the processing of distressing memories.
Processing Traumatic Memories: Traumatic memories are often fragmented and stored in non-linear ways within the brain. Brainspotting helps integrate these fragmented memories, transforming them into coherent narratives. This process is supported by research in memory reconsolidation, which demonstrates the brain's capacity to update and reorganize memories.
How Brainspotting Works:
Identifying Brainspots: Brainspotting identifies specific eye positions, or "brainspots," that correspond to the activation of traumatic memories or emotional distress. Scientifically, this correlates with the brain's ability to access and process these memories.
Dual Attunement: An essential component of Brainspotting is dual attunement, where the therapist is not only attuned to the client's inner experience but also their own somatic sensations and intuition. This dual attunement guides the therapeutic process and supports the brain's self-regulatory mechanisms.
Somatic Awareness: Brainspotting incorporates somatic (bodily) awareness, acknowledging that trauma is held not only in the mind but also in the body. By attending to bodily sensations during sessions, individuals can process and release stored trauma more effectively.
Transformation and Integration: As clients maintain their gaze on a brainspot, distressing memories and emotions surface and are processed. This process reduces the emotional charge of traumatic experiences, making them more manageable. The brain then integrates these transformed memories into the client's overall sense of self.
Scientific Evidence:
While Brainspotting is relatively newer compared to some therapeutic modalities, scientific studies have begun to validate its efficacy. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated changes in brain activity following Brainspotting sessions, indicating its potential to rewire neural pathways associated with trauma.
Furthermore, clinical trials and anecdotal reports consistently highlight the positive outcomes of Brainspotting in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and other trauma-related conditions.
In conclusion, Brainspotting is rooted in the science of neurobiology and memory reconsolidation. Its unique approach, involving the identification of brainspots, dual attunement, somatic awareness, and the transformation and integration of traumatic memories, aligns with the brain's natural healing mechanisms. Scientific evidence supports its effectiveness in healing trauma and fostering emotional well-being. If you're seeking a scientifically-backed path to trauma recovery, Brainspotting is a promising choice.
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Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, offers a revolutionary framework for healing and personal transformation. This approach delves into the intricate landscape of our inner selves, recognizing that our psyche is composed of a multiplicity of "parts" or subpersonalities, each with its unique thoughts, emotions, and motivations. Here, we explore the principles of IFS and how it can be profoundly beneficial to you.
Key Principles of Internal Family Systems:
Multiplicity of the Mind: IFS acknowledges that our minds are not singular but composed of various subpersonalities, often referred to as "parts." These parts have their own beliefs, emotions, and protective functions.
Self-Leadership: At the core of IFS lies the concept of the "Self." The Self is the essence of who we are, characterized by qualities like curiosity, compassion, and clarity. It serves as the inner leader who can navigate and harmonize the various parts within us.
Inner Dynamics: IFS identifies three primary categories of parts:
Managers: These parts aim to control and protect by setting rules and boundaries.
Firefighters: These parts respond to emotional distress with impulsive actions or distractions.
Exiles: These parts carry the emotional wounds and traumatic memories from our past.
How IFS Benefits Clients:
Self-Exploration and Self-Discovery: IFS provides a framework for clients to explore their internal landscape. By understanding the different parts within them, clients gain clarity about their emotions, behaviors, and motivations.
Emotional Healing: IFS helps clients access and heal emotional wounds carried by their inner exiles. By approaching these vulnerable parts with compassion and understanding, clients can release long-held pain and trauma.
Self-Compassion: The IFS process encourages self-compassion and self-acceptance. Clients learn to relate to their parts with empathy, reducing self-criticism and fostering self-love.
Conflict Resolution: IFS offers tools for resolving inner conflicts. By acknowledging and negotiating with conflicting parts, clients can achieve inner harmony and make decisions aligned with their true selves.
Trauma Recovery: IFS is effective in addressing trauma, as it allows clients to work with their exiled parts and process traumatic memories in a safe and supportive therapeutic environment.
Increased Self-Awareness: Clients gain a deeper understanding of their triggers, patterns, and coping mechanisms. This heightened self-awareness empowers them to make conscious choices and break free from automatic reactions.
Improved Relationships: IFS can enhance interpersonal relationships by helping clients understand and manage their reactive parts. This leads to healthier, more empathetic interactions with others.
Personal Growth: Through IFS, clients can uncover their hidden strengths and talents. They learn to access their inner resources, leading to personal growth and the realization of their potential.
In summary, Internal Family Systems therapy offers a transformative journey into the self. By embracing the multiplicity of the mind and nurturing the Self's leadership. zthis way of working can support you in healing emotional wounds, find self-compassion, and achieve inner harmony. IFS provides a roadmap for self-exploration, personal growth, and improved relationships, making it a valuable tool for those seeking healing and transformation.
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In our therapeutic journey together, I invite you to explore the boundless potential of expressive arts as a powerful avenue for deepening our work. Through my extensive training in intermodal expressive art therapy, which spanned three years at CIIS, I have witnessed how the arts can significantly amplify, ground, and enrich the healing process within therapy.
What Intermodal Expressive Art Therapy Offers:
Diverse Creative Mediums: Within our therapeutic space, you have the freedom to choose from a spectrum of creative avenues, including visual arts, creative writing, movement, and music. These artistic forms are not only tools for uncovering subconscious material but also serve as transitional objects, anchoring our work together.
Emotional Catharsis and Integration: The expressive arts act as conduits for emotional release and integration. They provide a safe and transformative space for you to cathartically express and process your emotions, leading to profound insights and healing.
Amplified Subconscious Exploration: Creativity has the power to unveil the hidden realms of your psyche. Through the arts, we can delve deeper into your subconscious, uncovering facets of yourself that may have remained undiscovered through conventional verbal communication alone.
Anchoring and Integration: Art created within our sessions can act as a tangible anchor for our work, allowing you to carry the insights and transformations from our therapeutic space into your daily life.
Complementary to Somatic Mindfulness and IFS: Our journey will be underpinned by the foundational principles of Hakomi Somatic Mindfulness and my IFS-informed guidance. The integration of expressive arts complements these approaches, enhancing their effectiveness in fostering self-awareness, healing, and transformation.
As we embark on this transformative path together, the expressive arts will be an ever-present option, enriching our therapeutic container. Your creative expressions will not only deepen our exploration but also serve as vital tools for anchoring insights and facilitating emotional catharsis and integration. This fusion of approaches offers a holistic and multidimensional approach to healing and self-discovery, empowering you to embark on a profound journey of transformation.